


Fairy Tales [Aren't Just For Dreaming]

by HansoldMySoul



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: But told from Yuta's pov, Cute Ending, Fairy AU, M/M, Major time skips, Me being vague because I'm too lazy to write things in detail, Multiple Pairings, Not much actual romance, Supernatural AU - Freeform, Tbh I'm not really sure of the time setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-28 22:40:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7659673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HansoldMySoul/pseuds/HansoldMySoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They're told to stay out of the forest, it's dangerous and those that live there aren't like them. </p><p>It just so happens that Yuta's never been good at listening to instructions and he's enthralled with the Melodic voice that drifts from the trees after sundown.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fairy Tales [Aren't Just For Dreaming]

Every child grows up being told stories of fairies. It's a right of passage along with tales of far off lands, beautiful princesses in need of rescue and brave knights who risk everything for what they believe in. 

The children born in the village of Gyochalo* are no different in that they also hear the stories but they aren't cute and exaggerated and told to onset sweet dreams. Instead, stories of the fairies are whispered as warnings, cautionary tales to keep the young ones from entering the forest that borders the northern most fringe of the village, nobody has anything good to say about the fairy-folk.

The common people got one thing right is what they say. The fae are mischevious and known to make trouble in any available capacity but they aren't harmless. 'They aren't like us' the adults say and it's with such scathing in their tones that the children heed words.

Nobody really believes though. The children want to see the fairies for themselves, to ascertain that they exist an aren't just a bargaining chip to scare them into good behaviors. This generation is defiant, not so willing to blindly follow the directions of the elders and with a sense of adventure that can't be quashed with baseless warnings and cautionary tales.

Mark is the first child to vanish. Everyone in the village knows that he's fascinated by the idea of the fae and he's been dragged away from the forest fringe more than once but he disappears in the middle of the night when Yuta is 12. He's only 8 and the elders speak like he's never coming back before they make any search effort.

He doesn't come back. 

There's a stone monument with his name carved into it in the South of the village and it serves a warning to any other children who think about exploring the vast forestland. For a while, talk of the fairies, save for frightened whispers, dies completely.

Only Yuta, barely a teenager, still watches the treeline longingly, unable to pull his mind away from the vast possibilities that lie behind the shadowy overhang of foliage. He doesn't forget about Mark the way the others seem to and he makes a promise to himself that one day he'll bring the younger boy back because he isn't afraid of the forest or the fae.

•

The second person to go missing is Sicheng but he doesn't disappear in the dark of night with no-one there to witness it, rather, the bright but quiet boy walks into the forest in front of Yuta's eyes. There's no pomp and circumstance about it, just glazed eyes and a determined walk until he disappears behind the treeline. 

Save for calling his name is question once, Yuta does nothing to stop it from happening because even though he can't hear the song, he knows how the enchanting melodies have kept the Chinese boy up at night, coaxing him towards the forbidden until he's unable to resist any longer. 

Yuta doesn't believe that the forest is evil, doesn't believe that the fae want to hurt them because he's heard tales of the beautiful harmonies that they weave and his young mind decides that something of such great beautiful doesn't have the capacity to cover negative intent. 

Secretly, Yuta wishes that he can hear the song woven specifically for his ears so that he finally has a reason to leave this place where they do nothing but try to twist the truth with fanciful words and scare tactics.

•

He's 15 the first time he sees a faen for real. It doesn't look evil but it doesn't look happy either as its dragged into the centre of the village, eyes downcast as if to avoid the pointed jeers and wary or hateful to eyes that follow it. 

He's tall, with unruly curls of brown hair that's threaded with wildflowers and intricate webs of exotic grasses. Despite his impressive height, when he looks up, Yuta realises that he's young. His face is round, eyes darting from side to side erratically but he's not struggling, letting the villagers drag him limply instead. Yuta doesn't know this boy but his heart aches because nobody should be treated the way, regardless of race or superiority.

The boys mouth moves but no sound is ever heard and Yuta knows that he's singing, calling for the one person that'll be able to hear him in the chaos and unfamiliarity of his new surroundings. It's an almost hopeless endeavor but still he continues to sing, knees to ground as everyone looks on confused, unsure of what to do in light of the new turn of events.

The same thing continues for several minutes until there's a disturbance in the gathered crowd and the people part hastily as a boy steps forward, eyes unseeing but smiling gently. Yuta knows him, he realises with a start. They go to school together, his name is Taeyong and he's well liked by everyone so nobody knows how to react when he continues his path, uncaring of the whispers that are already spreading like wildfire.

"Jaehyun," Taeyong whispers, so quiet that it could have been nothing more than a trick of the wind but the answering smile the faen boy gives in response cements it in reality.

Nobody hears his reply, just like anything else he's said, but that doesn't matter because what happens next causes angered protests and worried murmers to spread through the crowd. 

Jaehyun is on his feet faster than anyone can subdue him and his arms are wrapped around Taeyong and then they're gone. Maybe they vanished, or maybe they just moved too fast for the human eye to witness because nobody really understands the fae. 

Yuta smiles, uncaring for the ruckus because he knows that another song has fulfilled it's harmony. 

•

As time goes on and there are no future incidents, he starts to forget about dreams of beautiful songs and a world that nobody knew about beyond the border of trees. Yuta's 19 now, out of school and pursuing a career in teaching even though he doesn't really like kids.

It's a small girl with bright eyes and a hopeful smile that brings it all back. 

"Have you ever seen a fairy Mr. Nakamoto?" She asks, naive and excited to learn about something that her parents have probably warned her against many times. She was probably too young to have witnessed Jaehyun's capture all those years ago and even though time has passed, the images are still clear in his mind, the memories as intact as the day they were made. 

"Once," he reveals with a smirk and the excited chatter that arises from the children is enough to turn it into a genuine smile, this generation hasn't yet been brainwashed into believing the half-truths and false accounts of the people they're supposed to look up to. 

"His name was Jaehyun and he was beautiful, flowers woven into his hair and so young. He didn't stay long after he found what he was looking for but it's something I'll never forget." He let's the genuine awe leak into his voice as he gives a vague account of that day and the younger children listen in captivated silence. 

"Aren't the fairies supposed to be the bad guys?" The question comes from a little boy that looks a lot like Sicheng and the resemblance brings a warm smile to Yuta's face as he wonders how the boy is doing now.

"Don't believe everything people tell you, sometimes they just don't want you to believe in something bigger than yourself." 

None of the children really understand but Yuta hopes that his words will hold at least a little sway when their heads are filled with mindless propaganda and prejudice.

•

When he hears it, the first thing on his mind is that he was wrong. What he's hearing isn't so much a song as there are no words or recognisable instruments, it's more of an urging and although he doesn't understand the words, he's sure that he hears his name more than once. 

It's not tangible but the sound feels as though it's pulling him, nipping at his fingers and getting caught up in his baggy sweater as though it's urging him and without it's careful guidance, Yuta knows exactly where it wants him to go. 

The streets are empty at this time, the desolation illuminated by the moon which hung at its most majestic, proudly lighting the way. He finds himself glad that he no longer lives with his parents because they'd surely have triedbto stop him like they threatened in the past. Shoes forgotten, he pads through the quiet streets, quickly slipping off onto the dirt path which his feet knew all too well. He's walked this way a million times and although the countless wanting signs mean nothing to him, never once has he manged to go further than the tree line, conscious that it wasn't his time. 

As he reaches the point where the trees meet the open road, the song changes. It's more alluring now, drawing him forward with a new sense of urgency that he doesn't quite understand but doesn't fight it either because it's calling for him specifically and it's warm yet sends a pleasant shiver down his spine at the same time.

Instinctively, he knows that whatever awaits him isn't patient, they've been waiting a long time and Yuta wonders if they've been singing all along and he just couldn't hear or he was just hidden too well in plain sight. He steps slowly but without caution because Yuta's never really been afraid of what hides behind the cover of darkness and illusion and isn't disappointed.

Before anything else, it's glowing golden eyes that captivate him. They follow his every movement with precise darting motions and he's lost but not in the trees, in the depth of emotion that's visible in those eyes. As his eyes adjust to the low lighting, the rest of the features come into focus. 

"Doyoung--" The word tumbles from his lips long before he recognises it as a name but it fits. Slightly shorter than him with a slim build and a head of messy orange hair, Doyoung is as much fairy as Yuta would have imagined from the story books. Pale hands are tipped with slender fingers and sharp nails, one extended towards him in an invitation that he can't possible refuse.

"Yuta," The fae croons and all Yuta can think is that his voice sounds like the wind blowing lazily through a set of chimes, quiet and peaceful but also grabbing his full attention.

"Welcome Home." 

And everything feels right. The forest is his home and he wonders why never noticed how wrong it felt to be surrounded by the stone metropolis of the village.

"Only those with fae blood can hear us, we live to guide you back to where you belong, away from the stifling presence of the humans. However, our job is hard because we can only be heard by those who accept us and also complete us. We are one in the same." It's nothing like the stories that Yuta was told growing up but he never really believed them anyway, always too caught up in his own version of events.

"So Mark, Sicheng and Taeyong--?" He leaves the question open but the intent is clear and Doyoung's lips quirk up slightly because he's been expecting it. 

"They're safe, Taeil, Kun and Jaehyun guided them home safely. In a few weeks, little Minhyung will have his coming of age ceremony and Taeil is determined to make it special although he's been here so long that he's as much a fae as myself."

And he let's out the breath he doesn't know he's been holding because his friends are okay. All these years he's told himself not to worry but there's always been a sliver of doubt.

"I'm home," Yuta breaths, finally stepping forward into the embrace that's been waiting for him since he arrived. Doyoung fits perfectly in his arms and if he has the choice he'll never leave again. 

Briefly, he urges the next generation not give up hope as he thinks of the girl from his class who loves the fairies. May she come home someday.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are always greatly appreciated! Let me know what you thought of the concept and characterisation.
> 
> Find me on Twitter @HansoldMS_Twt


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